I happened to be driving down 1st St today and noticed some activity at Taylor Place, the ASU Downtown Residential Towers.  Alas, it was students and their parents, unloading the young students and their gear.  Today, was the first official move-in day for the new students.  Tomorrow will be another big day for the same.  Many of the new students will be attending the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, just across the street from the Residential Towers.

School starts next Monday.

Burton Barr Central Library will host a free reading and discussion with author Matthew C. Whittaker from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 1221 N. Central Ave.

Whittaker will discuss his new book, “African American Icons of Sport: Triumph, Courage and Excellence,” offering an examination of African Americans in sports from a variety of perspectives and through a lively range of rhetoric styles. It also explores the extent to which modern mass media and popular culture have contributed to the rise, and sometimes fall, of these powerful symbols of athletic, individual and group excellence.

Whitaker is associate professor of U.S. History, African and American Studies, and Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University. He is also the author of “Race Work: The Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West

Although the big move-in days are Wednesday & Thursday of this week, some students apparently are already moving in to the new 13-story Dorms (south Tower) in Downtown Phoenix.  Many of the 1500 new students for this year will be living Downtown, unlike the last 2 years where many students commuted.  School starts on August 25th. 

More to come this week I'm sure.

Read an extensive article by Jahna Berry at azcentral.com

Photo is courtesy of Cheryl Evans/The Arizona Republic

Burton Barr Central Library presents “The Arizona Cowboy: Then and Now” with storyteller Dean Cook in a free lecture and performance, from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 1221 N. Central Ave.

Cook is a songwriter, storyteller and cowboy poet. A native Arizonan, he weaves his life experiences into songs and stories about the West as it was, is and should have been.

The presentation is part of AZest for the West, a multi-year project to promote Arizona history to people of all ages through cultural programming, leading up to the Arizona Centennial in February 2012.

with Scott Kellogg - author of "Toolbox for Sustainable City Living - a Do It Ourselves Guide".

Wednesday, August 27th, 6 to 8 PM at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market meeting room. 

Requested Donation: $10. This event has been opened up to accommodate 100 people - Those with RSVPs are guaranteed a spot.

For more information visit:  http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/events/event/show?id=2008067:Event:14064

Books will be available for purchase during the event

Wondering if that's a possibility?  Anyway, if you think it might help your family, then you should check out the "Family & Teen Dissection Workshop" at the Arizona Science Center, happening Sunday, August 10th. 

Learn about the anatomy and explore form and function by dissecting a cow eye, a sheep brain, and a cow heart. Compare these organs to their human counterparts. Arizona Science Center. Family workshop/11am-1pm, teen workshop/2pm-4pm. For prices and information, call 602 716 2028 or get info online

In preparation for its fall opening, the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel is opening a recruitment unit in the Arizona Center.

Called the Sheraton Recruitment Center, it opened on Tuesday, July 15th, in the retail, movie and restaurant complex located across the street from the hotel at Third and Van Buren streets in downtown Phoenix.

"This is an incredible opportunity for people looking to work in the downtown area. With the opening of the light rail at the end of the year and all of the new residential developments in the area, we're excited about the impact this will have in breathing some life into downtown Phoenix," said Cindy Radamaker, director of human resources at Sheraton Downtown Phoenix.

The Sheraton Recruitment Center will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Candidates may also visit www.sheraton.jobs/phoenixdowntown and apply electronically.

The 1,000-room Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, scheduled to open in October, will feature a 3,500-square-foot fitness center and a 4,500-square-foot outdoor pool and sundeck.

July 25. Learn about the secrets of 3-D animations, including the software that computer architects use to build their structures. With just a few clicks of a mouse, participants can watch their faces stretch, twist and morph into new images. Arizona Science Center, 10am-5pm. Free with general admission.

For information, call 602 716 2000        or visit www.azscience.org

July 23. Everything You Wanted to Know About Computers – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask. Presented by Rozanne Hird. Bring your lunch to the Mercado, ASU at the Downtown Phoenix campus, noon-1pm. Free. To RSVP and for information, call  602 496 1000 or email ASUlectures@asu.edu.

10:30 to Noon - Saturday, July 19th
Introduction to Permaculture with Don Titmus 

$10 Requested Donation.

Learn about sustainable design for your home site.  Learn what "Permaculture" means, what a "systems approach" is and more.  Bring your questions and learn about responsible living.  Leave empowered with dynamic information that will save you money, make you more self-reliant, build community and benefit the Earth.

Oh, yeah, before the class starts, why not grab a breakfast burrito and listen to some music by John Diaz.

The Downtown Phoenix Public Market is at the corner of Central Ave & McKinley

 www.phoenixpublicmarket.com